Company Background
Airbnb will be the target company when creating a public relations message. The company was founded in 2008 to address the problem of overbooked hotels during large events (Airbnb fourth quarter, 2022). Through its platforms travelers and vacationers can access short-term rentals, which eases movement from one place to another. To provide the best accommodations, the business recruits homeowners and landlords. As a result of this, the company is available in a majority of the countries in the world, which gives it an advantage over local entities.
Mission, Core Values, and Annual Revenues
The mission of the organization is to create a world where you can belong anywhere and where people can live in a place instead of just traveling to it. Airbnb has amassed 150 million users in at least 100,000 cities around the world (Airbnb fourth quarter, 2022). The company was able to achieve a 76.6% increase in revenues in 2021 (Airbnb fourth quarter, 2022). This can be attributed to the market share of 20% that the business controls in the vacation rental industry (Airbnb fourth quarter, 2022). The core values of the company are championing the mission, being a host, being a serial entrepreneur, and embracing adventure. Despite its successes, the company has been accused of hiring homeowners and landlords who discriminate against minority groups.
Organization Structure and Employees
Airbnb is headed by a Chief Executive Officer under an organizational structure called an inter-supportive matrix. This structure helps integrate the many small teams that are within the firm’s ecosystem. As a result of the significant gap it has filled in the housing industry, the company has a strong brand reputation. This is enhanced by its presence in over 220 countries around the world (Airbnb fourth quarter, 2022). The company has a global workforce of 6,132 employees and 48.3% are women (An update on diversity, 2022). In the US 15% of the employees identify as underrepresented minorities (An update on diversity, 2022). Airbnb has a 2025 goal to raise the number to 20%, which will enhance diversity (An update on diversity, 2022).
Organization Philosophy
Airbnb has a unique and appealing business concept that encourages people to share their living space. Airbnb appeals to travelers and vacationers as it links them to homeowners and landlords. This has allowed the company to attain a 20% market share in the vacation rental industry. The firm’s website provides travelers with unique additional features, which encourages customers to keep using the platform. However, the organization is vulnerable to homeowners and landlords who are discriminatory toward visitors. Big events such as sports events offer the biggest opportunity for a revenue boost (Hati et al., 2021). This contributes to enhanced travel across different cities and towns around the world.
Stakeholders
Airbnb has various stakeholders who form a significant part of the business. Guests are a major part of the business because they have a need that Airbnb helps to solve using hosts who are the other major stakeholder. The satisfaction of hosts is essential and the recruitment of new hosts enhances growth. Reducing personal safety incidents for guests is crucial for the business. Airbnb has faced complaints from hosts who discriminate against minority groups. This includes the rejection of black people, the LGBTQ community, and other people of color as guests by hosts.
Another stakeholder for Airbnb is communities who are impacted by the business in various ways. The organization has committed to adopting sustainable travel to reduce its carbon footprint. Mutual funds form a big part of the shareholders in the business followed by institutional shareholders and lastly individual stakeholders. The main objective of the management is to create value for investors through strategic planning. The organization has in the past faced criticism over the issue of discrimination against women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. This is an issue that can result in a loss of investor confidence if it persists, which is why the public relation campaign is important.
Public Audience
Airbnb targets hosts and guests as they form a significant part of their business. The organization uses social media to provide updates and engage with customers (Appel et al., 2019). The firm’s website and application are used as a platform for travelers to access the accommodation type they want. The company has a global audience, which means that any complaint or issue can affect the strategic direction of the company. Minority communities, women, and LGBTQ have faced discrimination from hosts and other guests due to their race, gender, and sexual orientation (Clemence, 2022). Airbnb needs to address these complaints as they can harm the image of the brand. The public relation campaign will emphasize that Airbnb is for everyone.
Public Relation Campaign Objective
Airbnb has faced significant complaints as a result of hosts who provide poor customer experience and discriminate against minority groups. The business should embark on a five-year strategy to revamp its public image. The first step is to create a public relation campaign whose main objective is to enhance the public image of the company. The other objectives are to promote safety and assure the customer of comfort. The campaign will also cultivate trust among minority groups and broadcast positive stories on social media (Clemence 2022). This will help in addressing the challenges that have been highlighted above. The campaign will focus on the host and guest relations because the overview of the company showed that complaints by guests can result in a reduction in hosts who use Airbnb.
Target Audience
The target audience is people of color, LGBTQ, women and hosts. The public relation message will emphasize that Airbnb is for everyone. The campaign will target individuals aged between 18 years and 40 years. This group has a huge social media presence, which is going to be crucial for the success of the exercise. Another aspect is that the target audience has experienced discrimination at different stages of their life. By indicating that the company does not condone discrimination and poor service, the business can enhance its public image. The minority groups identified have disposable income to travel and a strong interest in vacations.
People of color and LGBTQ community have an approval rate of less than 94% when making a booking on Airbnb (Clemence, 2022). The group has a strong interest in travel, which can be an advantage for the company. The preference for quality services means that the company has to ensure that issues of discrimination and poor services are dealt with using policy changes. The campaign will not be successful if there is no support from the management. The social media team has to sustain the message and re-emphasize it to ensure the stated objectives are achieved.
Intended Message
The main message of the campaign is to emphasize that Airbnb is for everyone. The message will focus on the issues of poor services and discrimination against minority groups. The campaign should confirm that policy changes will follow to increase confidence. As the campaign progresses, the social media team should provide evidence of the steps taken to create change. This will enable more social media users to understand that the company knows how to solve the problem of discrimination. The message should also encourage people to stay with strangers and hosts to accept all travelers.
Purpose of Communications
The purpose of the communications is to present steps that are being taken by the firm to combat the issue of discrimination and poor services. The company will use the campaign as a way to show support to minority groups. The other aspect is to change the negative perceptions and stereotypes, which will enhance the image of the organization. This will be achieved by having significant engagements with customers on different platforms. The final purpose is to establish a positive relationship with the target audience.
Media Strategy
The media strategy will involve the use of three different media to drive the campaign. Most Airbnb users are on social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram). The use of both text and visual messaging will help the information reach a wider audience. Recruiting influencers to help with the messaging is another strategy that Airbnb can apply. The message has to be consistent because it will enable more engagements with customers on different platforms. The team should encourage people to share their positive experiences at Airbnb.
Media Mix
In the current era, social media is critical for public relations because most people are active on various platforms. The main platforms that will be applied in the campaign will be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The identified platforms have the highest number of active users, which will enable the campaign to reach a wider audience (Appel et al., 2019). Airbnb should adopt these sites because most of the customers are active on social media and it is easy to engage and provide feedback to the users. Consistent messaging on the platforms can enhance the bond between the company and key stakeholders, which can help change negative perceptions.
The other media to be used is television because of its wide reach for audiences aged 45 and above. Airbnb can use the video to capture the attention of users by providing information on what the company is doing to combat discrimination and poor services. The video can also help Airbnb to tell its story using its own words. The company can include additional insight from hosts and guests on what needs to be done. Another media that can enhance the campaign is newspapers, which also targets people aged 35 years and above. The article can help the business provide information on its corporate social responsibility. This can include steps taken to combat discrimination of guests by hosts on its platform.
Media Timeline Chart
The campaign will involve three media, which are social media, television, and newspaper. The social media platforms to be used are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The main goal on social media will be to launch the campaign and provide insight into what it entails. The television channels to be used are ABC, CBS, and FOX as they have a wide reach in the United States. Wall street journal and New York Times will serve as the disseminators of the interest article. The two major newspapers have an online presence, which will allow people from other countries to read the article. The campaigns on social media will run for six months with the first week being used for laying the foundations. Influencers from minority communities will take over after the first week as they can engage with customers more easily.
3 Separate Medias
One of the media to be used will be a video news release. The first shot will be of a group of people from different races and sexual orientations holding hands with the Airbnb logo at the center. The next shot will involve the CEO explaining the purpose of the campaign and the steps the company is undertaking to eliminate discrimination. This will be followed by footage of users sharing their experiences, which may either be positive or negative. The next shot will be of a bird flying and then perching on a house. This will be a metaphor for the slogan that Airbnb is for everyone. The last shot will display the statement that Airbnb is for everyone.
Another media to be used is a social media event which will be coordinated across all the identified social media platforms. The first step will be to recruit influencers, who will popularize the event. The influencers will adopt the hashtag #Airbnbisforeveryone. The second step will be to change the profile pictures on all social media platforms to an image of people of different races and sexual orientations holding hands with the Airbnb logo at the center. The third aspect will be a post that details the need to enhance diversity and inclusivity. This will be followed by a LIVE interview with the CEO, who will provide the steps being taken and the expected outcomes for the campaign. The last aspect will be to encourage users to share their experiences whether positive or negative. The social media team and influencers will respond to some of the posts.
Another essential media to be used is newspaper publications. The news article should be published in the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The article should provide the objectives of the campaign in the first paragraph. The next paragraph should provide quotes from the CEO explaining the steps being undertaken to combat discrimination. This should be followed by a statement encouraging users to participate in the campaign by sharing their experiences. The last part will be to re-emphasize the mission of the company, which is to create a world where anyone can belong.
Assessment Evaluation
The first aspect of evaluating the intended outcome is to analyze the media impressions and press clipping. This will involve checking the number of times the campaign has been mentioned in the media and by the target audience. The next aspect will be to measure the website and application traffic to determine if there have been any changes. The third aspect is to check the number of new listings from minority communities. The next step is to assess the number of new complaints involving discrimination. The organization should also monitor its social media mentions on all the platforms. The last aspect is to analyze the diversity and inclusivity ratings for the company.
The campaign may result in non-intended outcomes that can benefit or disadvantage the company. One of the ways to assess these outcomes is to conduct an online survey targeted at minorities. The organization should also analyze the changes in revenues and assess the user comments on social media. The other issue is to assess the negative reaction to the campaign on different platforms. The organization should also check the changes in perception in the target audience and whether there have been reduced listings from minorities on its platforms.
Airbnb needs to adopt a new direction to ensure the issues do not arise again. This can be done by showing that the company understands the core issues through its messaging. The firm needs to work closely with leaders from minorities to address the issues that have been identified. Another aspect is that the company needs to review its anti-discrimination policies regularly. Airbnb needs to offer avenues that can be used to report discrimination for both the hosts and guests. Fighting discrimination should not be viewed as a 6 months process. The firm should regularly post messages condemning discrimination.
References
Airbnb fourth quarter and full-year 2021 financial results. (2022). Airbnb Newsroom. Web.
An update on diversity and belonging progress at Airbnb. (2022). Airbnb Newsroom. Web.
Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2019). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79–95. Web.
Clemence, S. (2022). Black travelers say home-share hosts discriminate, and a a new Airbnb report agrees. The New York Times. Web.
Hati, S. R., Balqiah, T. E., Hananto, A., & Yuliati, E. (2021). A decade of systematic literature review on Airbnb: The sharing economy from a multiple stakeholder perspective. Heliyon, 7(10). Web.